Deploying WebLogic Server Applications

Quickstart Guide to Deployment

The following sections explain how to deploy an application or standalone module quickly in a BEA WebLogic Server^TM domain:

Step 1: Unpack the Archive File (if Necessary)

In some production environments, you will deploy an archive file (.ear, .war, .jar, or .rar extension) unchanged. See Exploded Archive Directories to determine if you should unpack the archive file before deploying.

If you want to deploy from an exploded archive directory, use the jar utility to unpack the archive file. Start by creating an empty directory in which you will store the files and moving to the new directory. Name the directory according to the application or standalone module you are deploying. For example:

mkdir mywebapp
cd mywebapp

Use the jar utility to unpack the archive:

jar xvf c:\production\mywebapp.war

If you are unpacking an EAR archive, the archive may contain additional archive files (.jar and .war extensions). In this case, also unpack the embedded archives in the exploded directory. Make sure the module subdirectories have the same name as the archive files, or you will need to update references to those modules elsewhere in the application. See Exploded Archive Directories.

Step 2: Start the Deployment Assistant

Access the Administration Console for the domain by loading its URL in your browser (for example, http://myhost:7001/console) and entering the administrator username and password.

Expand the Deployments Node in the left pane of the console, and select the type of deployment unit you want to deploy. The available deployment units are:

Applications—Enterprise Applications or Web Services packaged as .ear files or directories
EJB Modules—Enterprise JavaBean modules
Web Application Modules—Web Applications or Web Services packaged as .war files or directories
Connector Modules—Resource Adapters

The right pane of the Administration Console displays current deployments of the selected type. Click the Deploy a New deployment unit link in the right pane to start the associated Deployment Assistant.

Step 3: Upload Deployment Files (if Necessary)

When you use the Administration Console to deploy, the deployment files must be available on the Administration Server machine. If they are not yet available, use the "upload your file(s)" link on the first page of the Deployment Assistant to browse the directories on the local machine and locate an archive file to upload. Click the upload button to upload the archive file to the Administration Server machine to the location specified by the Upload Directory Name.

Step 4: Select the Deployment Files

In the first page of the Deployment Assistant, use the links in the Location field to browse directories on the Administration Server machine and locate the deployment file(s). (If you uploaded the deployment files in the previous step, the Administration Server's upload directory is automatically selected so you can choose the uploaded file.)

When the assistant detects a valid archive file or exploded archive directory in the current directory, it lists the archive or directory name as a selection beneath the Location field. Select the name of the archive or directory you want to deploy.

If you are deploying an Enterprise Application and your domain contains multiple WebLogic Server instances, you have the option to deploy all modules in the application to a single server, or target different modules of the application to different server instances. Click the Target Application or Target Each Module button, respectively. For standalone modules, click Continue to select target servers.

Step 5: Select the Target Servers

In the second page of the Deployment Assistant, use the check boxes to select target servers on which you will deploy the application or standalone module. To deploy to individual servers, select one or more server instances from the Independent Servers list and click Continue.

To deploy to a cluster of servers, select the name of the cluster from the Clusters list. By default, the assistant deploys to all server instances in the cluster (the All servers in the cluster option). If you want to deploy only to a subset of the servers in a cluster, select Parts of the cluster and then select the individual server instances to which you want to deploy the application or module. In most cases, you should deploy to all members of the cluster; see Deploy Homogeneously to Avoid Cluster-Level JNDI Conflicts in Using WebLogic Server Clusters.

If you are targeting individual modules of an Enterprise Application, your selections apply only to the module name displayed in the header of the console page (for example, Step 2 - Select targets for module "module_name"). If the application has additional modules to deploy, the console re-displays the Select Targets page after you click Continue, allowing you to target the next module to different server instances.

Click Continue when you have finished selecting target servers for the deployment.

Step 6: Deploy the Files

On the final page of the deployment assistant, you review your selection of target servers, choose a deployment staging mode, and define a deployment name. Review the entries under the Deployment Targets heading. If you need to change a target, click your browser's Back button.

The Source accessibility header displays the selected staging mode for the deployment source files:

Copy this application onto every target for me—This option is selected by default if you targeted the deployment to a cluster or to multiple server instances. This corresponds to "stage" mode where the Administration Server copies the application files to the location specified by the Staging Directory Name attribute to each targeted server; the targeted servers then deploy the application using their copy of the source files.
I will make the application accessible from the following location—This option is selected by default if you targeted the deployment to a single server instance. This corresponds to "nostage" mode where the server deploys from a single directory using the same physical deployment files; all targeted servers must be able to access the directory to deploy the application. Select this option if you are deploying to a cluster that resides on a single physical machine.

In the Identity header, the Name field specifies a unique name to refer to this deployment in the Administration Console. Accept the default name or enter a new name to describe the deployment unit.

Click Deploy to accept the values on this page and deploy to the listed server instances.